Mill for Seasoning in Particular for Humid Guerande Salt

ABSTRACT

Mill  1  for seasoning, in particular for moist salt such as Guérande salt, consisting of a body  2  inside which a drive shaft  6  is articulated, and a cap  4  covering the body  2,  characterized in that the drive shaft  6  has a device for breaking up the salt.

The present invention relates to a mill for seasoning, designed in particular for moist salt such as Guérande salt.

The disadvantage of moist salt is that it sticks to the walls, making it difficult to grind it.

Moreover, the fact that it sticks to the walls leads to wastage since simply shaking the mill is not enough to detach the salt from the walls and therefore the mill has to be refilled regularly.

Furthermore, the salt may corrode components of the mill, leading to physico-chemical reactions that may be harmful to the consumer.

The invention overcomes these various disadvantages by proposing a mill for seasoning, in particular for moist salt, and especially Guérande salt, which prevents the salt from sticking to the walls, thereby improving the grinding yield.

To this end, the present invention relates to a mill for seasoning, in particular for moist salt such as Guérande salt, consisting of a body inside which a drive shaft is articulated, and a cap covering the body, characterized in that the drive shaft has a device for breaking up the salt.

The mill according to the invention consists in particular of a body in which a screw is actuated, the latter operating by means of a drive shaft and a drive disk. A knob, positioned on the cap covering the body of the mill, is used to commence driving.

The invention will be more clearly understood with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a general view of the mill according to the invention,

FIG. 2 is a view of the mill with the cap removed,

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the mill according to the invention.

The body 2 of the mill 1 is cylindrical. Inside this body 2 a is a receptacle for storing the seasoning, in particular salt. The body 2 may be made of any kind of material, such as wood or plastic.

The body 2 is surmounted by a cap 3 which is flared toward the top. This cap 3 is itself surmounted by a knob 4 in the form of a ball.

The cap 3 and the ball 4 may be made of any kind of material, such as wood or plastic.

A drive disk 5 is situated at the join between the cap 3 and the body 2 of the mill 1.

It is advantageously made of plastic so as to prevent any corrosion by the seasoning, in particular salt.

The drive disk 5 is surmounted by a shaft 6 for driving and adjusting the mill. This shaft is made of plastic. The shaft 6 is surmounted by the ball 4.

A screw 7 is attached to the bottom of the drive disk 5, passing through most of the body of the mill and covering the drive shaft 6.

The screw 7 has several notches 8 along the shaft.

A dish 9 is positioned at the bottom of the screw 7. The screw 7 bears on this dish 9 where the salt is ground using a bulb 10.

This dish 9 and the bulb 10 will be made of ceramic to prevent any corrosion by the salt.

The drive shaft 6 of the mill 1 is advantageously obtained by overmolding the bulb 10.

Its lower end is square in shape, as is the screw 7 surrounding it, to prevent any twisting of the drive shaft 6.

At the bottom, the bulb 10 has a bracket 11 surrounding the bulb 10 and the dish 9. This bracket 11 will be made of plastic.

The various components of the mill 1 are connected to one another by stainless steel screws. To prevent any corrosion, these screws are sealed off from the salt using a drop of resin that covers their head.

To this end, the housings for the screws are larger than the screws to allow a drop of resin to flow in and thus fulfill its sealing function.

Grinding is adjusted using the knob 4 arranged on the cap 3. The user twists it. The cap 3 drives a screw via the disk 5. This screw drives the shaft via its drive square, located at the bottom.

The movement of the screw 7 with its notches 8 breaks up the salt, facilitating grinding as the salt falls into the grinding device more readily.

The salt falls into the dish where it is ground by the bulb 10.

Since the lower end of the drive shaft 6 is square, the drive shaft is prevented from being twisted. This is in fact where the screw drives it.

To prevent the plastic shaft 6 from twisting in the event of a drive applied at a point offset from the force, the latter is relayed as close as possible to the bulb 10 via the screw 7.

Moreover, since the dish is made of ceramic, the seasoning is ground finely, without corroding the components of the mill. The mill according to the invention makes it possible to grind salt as well as dispense it.

Certain components of the mill according to the invention, i.e. the drive shaft, the drive disk and the screw, are made of plastic to prevent corrosion that would surely be caused by the salt to metal.

While the invention has been described in relation to particular embodiments, it encompasses all technical equivalents of the means described. 

1. A mill 1 for seasoning, in particular for moist salt such as Guérande salt, consisting of a body 2 inside which a drive shaft 6 is articulated, and a cap 4 covering the body 2, characterized in that the drive shaft 6 has a device for breaking up the salt.
 2. The mill 1 for seasoning as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the drive shaft 6 has a screw 7 comprising notches
 8. 3. The mill 1 for seasoning as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the drive disk 5, the drive shaft 6 and the screw 7 with its notches 8 are made of plastic.
 4. The mill 1 for seasoning as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the grinding mechanism, i.e. the dish 9 and the pear 10, is made of ceramic.
 5. The mill for seasoning as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the mill is assembled using stainless steel screws.
 6. The mill for seasoning as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that the assembly screws are embedded in a drop of resin.
 7. The mill for seasoning as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lower end of the drive shaft is square.
 8. The mill for seasoning as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the drive shaft 6 has a plastic bracket 11 at its lower end. 